NORTON, Mass. (AP) - Abraham Ancer of Mexico opened with three straight birdies on his way to a 6-under 65 to take a one-shot lead Sunday over a familiar figure going into the final round of the Dell Technologies Championship.
It wasn’t Tiger Woods, but the guy playing with him - Bryson DeChambeau, who is coming off a four-shot victory in the first FedEx Cup playoff event and shot 63 while playing with Woods for the first time in a tournament. DeChambeau and Tyrrell Hatton (69) were one shot behind.
It figures to be another frantic Labor Day finish on the TPC Boston.
Ancer, at No. 92 in the FedEx Cup just hopeful of getting into the top 70 to advance to the playoff event next week outside Philadelphia, was at 13-under 200. A victory would assure a trip to the Tour Championship and a spot in the Masters.
Ten players were within four shots of the lead, a group that included Justin Rose, Rory McIlroy and Jordan Spieth. Woods had to settle for a 69 that left him in a tie for 16th, six shots behind. At least he saw plenty of good golf. DeChambeau has become of his regular practice partners, though they had never been in the same group until Sunday.
DeChambeau opened with two birdies and finished even stronger, with short birdie putts on the 16th and 17th, and then a 5-iron from 237 yards that stopped rolling 2 feet from the hole for an eagle.
Not since Vijay Singh in 2008 has anyone captured the opening two FedEx Cup. DeChambeau led by four shots at Ridgewood last week and never was seriously challenged. This time, the 24-year-old Californian will have to come from one shot behind against a 27-year-old playing in only his 49th PGA Tour event.
Hatton had the lead until his approach on the par-4 12th went off a cart path and into the trees, and a search party of some three dozen fans and volunteers never found it. He did well to escape with a double bogey, and then finished with a birdie for a 69.
Justin Rose (70) and Cameron Smith (67) were another shot behind, followed by Emiliano Grillo (64) and Kyle Stanley (66).
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LPGA TOUR
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) - Marina Alex rallied to win the Cambia Portland Classic for her first LPGA Tour title, closing with a 7-under 65 for a four-stroke victory over Georgia Hall.
Alex birdied the final five holes in a front-nine 30 to take the lead and added birdies on the par-5 12th and par-4 15th at tree-lined Columbia Edgewater. She made her only bogey of the day on the par-4 18th, leaving her at 19-under 269.
The 28-year-old former Vanderbilt star gave caddie Travis Wilson his second straight victory in the event. Wilson is teamming with Alex with regular boss Stacy Lewis preparing for the birth of her first child.
Alex matched the course record with a 62 on Thursday, then shot 71-71 to begin the final round six strokes behind Women’s British Open champion Hall.
Hall had a 75. The 22-year-old Englishwoman played the front nine in 2 over, with bogeys on the par-4 first and par-5 seventh.
Japan’s Ayako Uehara was third at 13 under after a 69.
Australia’s Minjee Lee, two strokes behind playing partner Hall entering round, had a 77 to finish fourth at 11 under.
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PGA TOUR CHAMPIONS
CALGARY, Alberta (AP) - Scott McCarron had a one-hop ace on the par-3 14th and closed with a birdieto successfully defend his Shaw Charity Classic title.
McCarron shot a 7-under 63 for a one-stroke victory over Scott Parel, Joe Durant and Kirk Triplett at Canyon Meadows. The 53-year-old McCarron has seven PGA Tour Champions victories, also winning in Madison, Wisconsin, in June, after winning three times on the PGA Tour.
McCarron finished at 15-under 195. He birdied five of the first 13 holes, then had the hole-in-one on the 154-yard 14th with a 9-iron. He gave away a stroke with a bogey on the par-4 15th, birdied the par-3 16th and bogeyed the par-4 17th. On the par-5 18th, he found the left side of the fairway with a long drive and hit a 5-iron approach from 209 yards to 30 feet left of the hole to set up the winning two-putt birdie.
Durant, the second-round leader after a 63, shot 67. He bogeyed the 13th, 15th and 17th - missing a 1-foot putt on the par-4 17th - and birdied the par-5 18th.
Parel, the Boeing Classic winner last week in Washington, birdied the last for a 62.
Triplett had a 65. Needing birdie to force a playoff, he parred the 18th after driving short and right and leaving a wedge approach well short.
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WEB.COM TOUR FINALS
BEECHWOOD, Ohio (AP) - Kramer Hickok completed a wire-to-wire victory in the DAP Championship, beating Hunter Mahan and Matt Jones by three strokes in the second of four Web.com Tour Finals events.
Playing to improve his PGA Tour status after earning one of 25 cards from the Web.com Tour’s regular-season money list, Hickok shot his second straight 2-under 68 to finish at 14-under 266. He matched the Canterbury Golf Club record Thursday with a 63 and had a 67 on Friday.
PGA Tour star Jordan Spieth’s former teammate and housemate, Hickok earned $180,000 for his first tour victory to push his season total to $373,635. He has jumped from 23rd to second among the 25 regular-season qualifiers in the first two tournaments, earning a series-best $198,000. The 26-year-old former University of Texas player was the Canadian tour player of the year last season, winning twice.
Six-time PGA Tour winner Mahan and Jones each shot 67. They wrapped up PGA Tour cards, each earning $88,000. Jones is fourth in the series standing with $112,000, and Mahan fifth with $102,500. Last year, Seamus Power took the 25th and final card with $40,625.
The series features the top 75 players from the Web.com regular-season money list, and Nos. 126-200 - Jones was 151st, Mahan 159th - in the PGA Tour’s FedEx Cup standings. Hickok and the other top-25 finishers on the Web.com money list are competing against each other for tour priority, with regular-season earnings counting in their totals. The other players are fighting for 25 cards based on series earnings, with Seth Reeves, Stephan Jaeger, Max Homa and Denny McCarthy also wrapped up tour cards Sunday.
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EUROPEAN TOUR
AARHUS, Denmark (AP) - Matt Wallace won the Made in Denmark title in a playoff for his third victory of the year, and home favorite Thorbjorn Olesen took the final automatic spot on the European Ryder Cup team after Matthew Fitzpatrick failed to win.
Wallace birdied five of his last six holes in a 5-under 67 to match fellow Englishmen Steven Brown (68), Jonathan Thomson (68) and Lee Westwood (69) at 19-under 269 at Silkeborg Ry Golf Club. Wallace beat Brown with a birdie on the second extra hole after Thomson and Westwood dropped out on the first.
Fitzpatrick had a 66 to finish seventh at 16 under.
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OTHER TOURS
MEN
Rikuya Hoshino won his first Japan Golf Tour title by closing with a 5-under 66 for a five-shot victory over Shugo Imahira in the Fujisankei Classic. … On the PGA Tour-China, Richard Jung of Canada made a 40-foot birdie on the last hole for a 4-under 68 and won the Suzhou Open by two shots over Yechun Yuan of China, who made double bogey on the 18th hole. Yuan was making his pro debut. … Jack Singh Brar clsoed with a 3-under 70 for a three-shot victory in Cordon Golf Open in France on the European Challenge Tour. … Peter Karmis closed with a 4-under 68 for a four-shot victory in the Vodacom Origins of Golf in Selborne on the Sunshine Tour in South Africa. … Tae-woo Kim shot a 4-under 68 for a one-shot victory in the DGB Financial Group Daegu Geyongbuk Open on the Korean Tour. It was his first professional victory. … Paul Streeter shot 1-over 73 and hung on for a two-shot victory over Clark Dennis (66) to win the Travis Perkins Masters on the European senior Staysure Tour in England.
WOMEN
Jeong-eun Lee closed with a 3-under 69 for a four-shot victory in the Hanwha Classic on the Korean LPGA Tour. … Jiyai Shin won for the second time this year on the Japan LPGA Tour by closing with a 2-under 70 and winning a playoff in the Golf 5 Ladies Pro Golf Tournament. … Sweden’s Linnea Strom won the Sioux Falls GreatLIFE Challenge for her first Symetra Tour title. She closed with a 3-under 67 for a one-stroke victory over England’s Charlotte Thomas.
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